The present invention relates generally to an apparatus that alerts and warns a user of an appliance such as a stove or oven, or any other device or situation which may be monitored, either visually, audibly or by some other sensory means, that a cooking or other process has been initiated and requires monitoring and attention. Over a cyclic period of time the user, such as a cook, is signaled to return to, for example, the appliance and the cooking process, and hence to the source of combustion (i.e. the stove top burners, the oven, broiler, etc.) until the cooking process is completed or otherwise terminated. In this way, the risk of accidental damage which may arise due to overheating, combustion and possible kitchen fire due to an unattended cooking process is greatly reduced. The invention may be applied not only to cooking and kitchen monitoring, but to any other process or situation where such monitoring may be useful, for safety or other reasons. Some of these situations are described herein, but the invention is not limited to the specific examples which may be enumerated herein. In this specification, therefore, a specific reference of the applicability of the invention to cooking or other monitoring situations is to be interpreted broadly as encompassing any of a plurality of situations where the apparatus of the invention may be used.
Every year, thousands of people are killed or injured in house fires or other home related accidents. Some current statistics indicate that deaths from fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury and deaths in the United States and the third leading cause of fatal home injury. Sources indicate that in 2006 fire departments responded to 412,500 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,580 people (not including firefighters) and injured another 12,925, not including firefighters. Some statistics and sources also indicate that 4 out of 5 fire deaths in 2005 occurred in residences and that cooking was the primary cause of these fires. Often, for example, cooking related fires are caused by unattended utensils which may be left on heating elements or gas flames. A common scenario involves an elderly person who initiates a cooking procedure and then forgets that food is cooking because of distractions such as a long telephone conversation; disease (Alzheimer's is an example), other impairment or just simple forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. Furthermore, unattended food left cooking on a burner may dry and overheat, and this scenario can lead to combustion and smoke. If cooking oil is involved, combustion can quickly result and produce an uncontrollable fire in very little time.
One solution to this problem is an inexpensive apparatus that (1) directly detects a person's or user's presence in front of a cooking appliance before a cooking procedure is initiated, (2) automatically monitors a user's attention to the cooking process, and (3) automatically warns with an alarm or other signal the user if the cooking process is left unattended.